Taipei’s Masskara Festival, which was launched as a way to lift people’s spirits, will open on Friday but will be held without a parade this year and instead will be celebrated through promotions and activities over an extended period, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the organizers.
The city’s Department of Civil Affairs told CNA that the parade has been omitted from the festival, scheduled to be held from Nov. 12-28, because of the difficulty of maintaining social distancing. Organizers will instead invite people to take part in activities such as educational talks or posting photos on social media in exchange for gifts and vouchers.
The parade last year saw some 1,200 people dressed in colorful costumes and smiling masks of all sizes dancing from St. Christopher’s Church, along Zhongshan North Road, Nong’an and Shuangcheng Streets, all the way to Qingguang Park.
A ceremony was also held at the Qingguang Park after the parade with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (???) and officials from Southeast Asian representative offices joining in on the festive atmosphere, along with Taiwanese people and the country’s new immigrants.
New immigrants are broadly defined as foreign nationals who immigrated to Taiwan over the past 20-30 years, and many of them have Taiwanese spouses. The vast majority are from Southeast Asia and China.
People can still take part in the festival this year by joining activities and designing their own masks with colored pens, shiny confetti 3D stick-on decorations, and feathers at Qingguang Market.
Surgical masks and cash vouchers will also be given out to people who post photos taken at specially selected spots at or near the market on certain dates.
Ko is scheduled to make an appearance at the market on Saturday to welcome visitors and interact with new immigrants, according to the Department of Civil Affairs.
New immigrants from the Philippines will hold cultural events at Taipei City New Immigrants’ Hall in Wanhua District on Nov. 13, Nov. 20, and Nov. 27 to showcase Philippine food, clothing, festivals, language and culture, including masks painting, according to the Department of Civil Affairs.
The Masskara, also known as the “Festival of Smiles” is one of the biggest in the Philippines. It originated in the City of Bacolod in the 1980s during a crisis, when the price of sugar, the province’s main source of income, dropped to an all-time low.
The festival was held for the first-time in Taipei in September last year as a motivation for people to lift their spirits and keep smiling despite the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Civil Affairs Department official, surnamed Liu (?), said the event in Taipei last year was very successful and the meaning behind it was similar to why the festival originated in the Philippines.
“We wish that our diverse cultural events can continue to be held,” she said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel